NEW YORK (AP) — Manny Machado hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the fifth inning and the San Diego Padres beat the New York Mets 7-4 on Wednesday night in a matchup of postseason contenders.With two runners aboard in the ninth, All-Star closer Robert Suarez knocked down Juan Soto's line drive with his glove and calmy threw to first base for the final out.Ramón Laureano also homered and Jake Cronenworth had an RBI single for the Padres, who stayed two games behind the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers. San Diego holds the second of three National League wild cards, five games in front of the Mets.New York remained 1 1/2 games ahead of Arizona for the final NL playoff spot. Cincinnati and San Francisco are both two games back. Soto homered against his former team, equaling a career high with his 41st of the season. Pete Alonso went deep for the third consecutive game. Starling Marte and Francisco Alvarez also connected for the Mets, and Brett Baty had three hits.Fernando Tatis Jr. reached base four times and scored…

NEW YORK (AP) — With the bases loaded, the last man any opposing pitcher wants to see at the plate is Manny Machado.The seven-time All-Star once again showed why Wednesday night.Machado launched a tiebreaking grand slam off David Peterson in the fifth inning that sent the San Diego Padres to a 7-4 victory over the New York Mets in a pivotal matchup between postseason contenders.“The one thing about Manny that I appreciate is just his calmness,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “Just not making the moment bigger than it is. You know, a lot of guys, hey, bases loaded — and try to do too much. Manny just knows who's in charge at that point, and it's the hitter. He just knows, I'm gonna stick a good at-bat. He put a nice, sweet stroke on it.”Machado gave the Padres a 6-2 lead with his second grand slam this season and the 14th of his career — most among active players. It was the first allowed by Peterson in 130 major league games. “I was just trying to drive in one,” Machado said. “In that opportunity, it’s just…

The win kept the Padres two games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West with 10 to play. They lead the Mets by five games for the second of three National League wild cards.